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US-led coalition in Syria attacks pro-Assad fighters, 100 dead

The US-led coalition fighting the "Islamic State" has killed 100 people in an attack, unusually targeting fighters loyal to Bashar al-Assad. It said it was retaliating after the fighters attacked its Syrian allies.

The US-led coalition in Syria said it had carried out retaliatory airstrikes late on Wednesday and early Thursday, killing about 100 people it described as part of President Bashar al-Assad's forces.

The latest action, described by the Syrian government as a new effort "to support terrorism," highlights the degree to which US-backed and Russian-backed forces in Syria are increasingly at odds.

- Syrian officials said the attack on government-backed troops represented "a crime against humanity." The Syrian state news service SANA said the forces that were targeted were involved in the fight against "Islamic State" (IS). Damascus has sent a letter to the United Nations secretary-general in response to the attack.

- The US military says more than 100 Syrian pro-regime forces were killed while they were engaging SDF and coalition forces.

- US officials claim the attack was a response to an initial assault 8 kilometers (5 miles) east of the Euphrates River, the airspace above which is controlled by the US.

- Russia and the US informally treat the Euphrates as a dividing line for their air forces' bombing missions over Syria.

Syrians start from scratch in Raqqa

Mangled steel and concrete

Much of Raqqa, once an "Islamic State" stronghold, now lies in ruins. What remains of the city are destroyed building shells of concrete and mangled steel. Local traffic uses hastily cleared paths and roads to avoid any hidden IED’s (improvised explosive device).

Syrians start from scratch in Raqqa

Sticking together

Families use various modes of transport to get around the city. These include bicycles, motorcycles or a home-made wheelie box shown in the image above.

Syrians start from scratch in Raqqa

No transport too small

A familiar sight on the region's roads and streets: Here three young girls, two adults and a child squeeze on to a small motorcycle. It’s the quickest way to get around town.

Syrians start from scratch in Raqqa

Row the boat ashore

Small rowing boats ferry people and goods across the river. Local say the Raqqa bridge over the Euphrates river was destroyed by IS forces in a preemptive strike to slow down the Syrian Democratic Forces approaching the city.

Syrians start from scratch in Raqqa

Work is just around the corner

Teams of manual workers sit on street corners. With people returning to the city eager to rebuild their homes, these workers are in high demand.

Syrians start from scratch in Raqqa

Buy two, get one free!

Coffee, soft drinks and energy drinks are in high demand among the laborers drafted in to rebuild homes and businesses. The owners of make-shift food and drinks carts are doing brisk business.

Syrians start from scratch in Raqqa

Back home

A typical view of a residential area in one of the city’s neighborhoods. A woman with her two children walks past a family that has recently returned home. The father has rebuilt the apartment’s outer walls but with no running water and electricity, many obstacles remain.

Syrians start from scratch in Raqqa

Personal belongings

As the sun sets a family arrives where a block of flats once stood. Each collapsed floor rests on the one below. Rummaging through the rubble two men covered in dust manage to salvage a king-sized mattress. A few moments later the father finds his son’s school book.

Syrians start from scratch in Raqqa

Spent force

Two boys walking down one of the city streets hold two used shells. IED’s still present a real threat and are a common cause of death and injury. IS fighters booby-trapped bodies, money, toys and rubbish among other things.

Author: Filip Warwick (Raqqa)

Russia labels airstrike 'aggression'

The Russian Defense Ministry said later on Thursday that the US goal in Syria was not to fight IS, but to capture what it called "economic assets."

"It looks like the Americans have embarked on the course aimed at dividing the country," Lavrov said, as reported by the TASS news agency. Plans for the actual partition of Syria do exist, and we are aware of that. We will ask our American counterparts how they see all that," he said, adding that a meeting would take place next Wednesday.

US says Russians were told

US Central Command (CENTCOM) said that members of its coalition were "co-located" with the SDF fighters "in an advise, assist and accompany capacity" at the time of the attack.

The US-led coalition alerted Russian officials about the presence of SDF forces in the area far in advance of the attack, a US official told Reuters. "Coalition officials were in regular communication with Russian counterparts before, during and after the thwarted [enemy] attack," he said.

War with many fronts

The US, Russia, and now Turkey, all maintain a military presence in Syria. Moscow is supporting the Assad regime in its fight against certain rebel groups. The US was supporting various rebel groups, most notably Kurdish fighters, primarily in their battle against IS. Turkey, meanwhile, recently assaulted areas held by Kurdish groups near its border.